Rating: 
Summary: A Rather Extraordinary Movie
Review: This may not be a very great movie, but it haunts me years after I first watched it. Was it the mood? The setting, or the story itself? There wasn't a plot as such and things happened as if in a trance or in a dream, and the characters were quite peculiar and so were the events and such mysteries were compounded by a strong sense of suspense. Was it only to the credit of the director, or just the acting staff, or...? Anyway, it managed to keep your concentration, involving and absorbing the audience so that they forget about their daily routine and above all, it impresses.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the finest movies of all time...
Review: I watched it seven times--within a week--not counting the interminable successive replays of favorite chapters. Ralph Fiennes is arguably the finest actor of our generation. His portrayal of Count Almasy is posessed of depth, sensitivity, and subtlty as well as passionate intensity. These qualities are, indeed, the hallmarks of all of Mr. Fiennes' work, and this performance is replete with each of them, as well as with the evidence of the technical refinement of a superb classically-trained actor. The directing, cinematography, and editing are equal to the task set for them, as is every single member of the cast. The result is haunting and unforgettable.
Rating: 
Summary: A failed epic
Review: The English Patient is based on Michael Ondaatje's prizewinning novel of love and betrayal before, during and after the Second World War. It recieved almost every award under the sun. A nurse called Hana played by Juliette Binoch looks after an "English Patient" played by Ralph Fiennes who has been seriously burnt in a plane crash. Initially, he cannot remember anything - or refuses to do so - but eventually his story and his guilt are revealed. We learn of his love and betrayal.The film diverges in a few places from the novel and is probably a tighter story for the changes. Nonetheless some ofthe changes are just odd and we never learn of Carravagio's past. The cinematography is stunning and the direction is superb, but the whole thing is just lifeless. Even Colin Firth cannot generate anything in this. It has a great cast, superb production values, but for some reason it just leaves you looking at your watch waiting for it all to end. The best scenes are provided by the sapper crew who at least appear to be human. Binoche gives it everything as does every member of the cast, but in the end it does not work. That said, it is staggering beautiful to look at. Some scenes are just breath taking, particularly Binoche in the church as she moved from painting to painting by rope. I admire almost everything about this film, but I just cannot like it.
Rating:
Summary: Only watch it once.
Review: I loved this movie when I first saw it. The cinematography coupled with the musical score was fantastic. Ralph Fiennes had that certain "bad boy" edge that made the love scenes with Kristin Scott Thomas extremely hot. However, that aside, the sub-story with Juliette Binoche as the nurse to the dying Laszlo and lover to Kip was the most touching.
That said, I would not recommend viewing it more than once, twice if you absolutely have to. I felt the more I watched it, the more I disliked Fiennes character. Multiple viewings made me feel like is was an obsessed, possessive, crazy man. I no longer felt that he simply and purely loved Katherine. Ultimately, I think the film is worth viewing but like a good day in Vegas-quit while you are ahead and don't watch it more than once.
Rating: 
Summary: A little slow
Review: This movie has beautiful cinematography, nice acting, and an unusual setting. The plot did not grip me and I found the love story to be ho-hum because of the way its told in flash back. I know a lot of people really loved it, and if you're someone who likes sophistocated stories you might love it to. But if you're a boring American like me, the pacing isn't fast enough and the movie is very long. The one TRULY exceptional part of this film, however, is its score. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: DISMAL DVD EXPERIENCE!
Review: I want someone to explain to me why so many Oscar-winning Best Pictures have gotten such terrible treatment on DVD. See the bottom of this review for a complete list of discs 'Not' to get! "The English Patient" concerns itself with the identity of a downed pilot, so badly burned that he is unrecognizable to the allies who temporarily save him from death. Ralph Fiennes is the man of mystery, Juliette Binoche, his faithful nurse and William DaFoe the stranger out to discover the truth. This is a sweeping, grand epic that is quite interesting in its own right, though if you've read the book on which the film was based, you will be disappointed with the handling of some of the aspects of the story. There's also some gratuitous nudity that really has no point being included. It did nothing for my admiration of Kristin Scott Thomas' acting abilities.
"The English Patient" is widescreen but not anamorphically enhanced. The feature is also split in half on a 'flipper' disc, a real pain. There's a goodly amount of edge enhancement, pixelization and shimmering of fine details that distract throughout the movie. Colors are also not well balanced. Some digital grit and a lot of film grain also present. If this is what Miramax calls a "Special Collector's Edition" I'm not sure I want to see what their regular DVD releases look like. THERE ARE NO EXTRAS. Not even a theatrical trailer and no audio commentary or "making-of" to accompany this epic story of tragic love. BOTTOM LINE: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY! P.S. Here's that list of other Oscar Winning Best Pictures currently available on DVD but in painful-looking transfers: GOING MY WAY, THE DEER HUNTER, THE STING, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE LAST EMPEROR, THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER PART II, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, CHARIOTS OF FIRE, THE APARTMENT, TOM JONES. All represent a low in image quality and mastering efforts. Many are not anamorphic and some are not even in widescreen - COME ON! GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!
Rating:
Summary: Hoping for special edition DVD
Review: I would say, after looking at the reviews below, that this is a film that one either loves or hates. No middle ground. Some are bored. More (including myself) are mesmerized by it's sublime beauty, thought-provoking story, and wonderfully sensitive acting performances. But, words can't convey the feelings I have for this film. I love it passionately. The DVD is fine, but is a bare-bones edition. The many fans of The English Patient deserve a "loaded" edition.
Rating:
Summary: The Heart has no Boundaries
Review: This rare and beautiful film, based on a book that is felt as much as read, transcends the medium to become art. Painted on a vast desert canvas with deep rich oils, its beauty is felt as much as seen. This film will find your heart and remain there forever. If love had a face, it would look like this. Director Anthony Minghella's screenplay shifts the center of Michael Ondaatje's story slightly in order to capture on film the essence of his beautiful prose. The book and the film are so deeply intertwined you can not watch this film without wanting to read the book, nor can you read the book without wanting to see the film. The story itself centers around three people in love with, or haunted by, ghosts they have loved and lost to war. Juliette Binoche gives an Oscar winning performance as Hana, a kind nurse with a gentle spirit, but a damaged heart. She latches onto the burned and charred body of a man known only as The English Patient, and ends up caring for him in a shell ravaged Italian villa in Tuscany where she feeds him plumbs and reads to him. When a man named Caravaggio with scars of his own arrives, the mystery of who The English Patient really is begins to unfold via flashbacks. In the present, Hana begins to let her heart heal when she falls in love with a Sikh who disarms bombs left by the Germans. It is the memories of The English Patient, however, which are at the heart of this film. Ralph Fiennes gives a subtle performance as the introspective Almasy, part of an international expedition mapping an unending desert with both the romance, and the danger, of the sea. Kristin Scott Thomas is wonderful as Katherine Clifton, the stunningly beautiful and enigmatic wife of a fellow mapper. An instant but unspoken attraction between she and Almasy finally becomes too unbearable to ignore and the affair that holds the key to the mystery of The English Patient begins. This is one of the most romantic films ever made and is filled with the joy and anguish of love and war. It shows that while war may create logistical lines that can not be crossed, the heart has no boundaries. Anyone who has ever experienced a love of such emotional intensity and physical longing that love and need became one will understand the love affair of Katherine and Almasy. Cinematographer John Seale has given this film a grace and beauty seldom seen on film. A haunting score full of mystery and romance from Gabriel Yard accompany scenes never to be forgotten and will not be described here in case you have not yet seen them. Director Anthony Minghella explores the mystery of the desert, and the heart, which, according to the "The Histories" by Herodotus The English Patient clings to, is an organ of fire. If there is but one ounce of romance in your soul, you will love "The English Patient." It is a rich and breathtakingly beautiful picture of the human heart and will be one of your favorite films once you see it.
Rating:
Summary: American Impatience
Review: "Oh Darling, my darling...at night I rip out my heart and in the morning it is full again," goes the dialogue while peppered with T&A scenes. That about sums up this movie. The only interesting part is when a French Canadian nurse falls in love with an Indian. At best, the English Patient is a cure for insomnia. Pass the Earl Grey chum!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant.
Review: I've watched the English Patient more than a couple of times and it just never ceases to amaze me. This enchanting film requires the viewer's total concentration as it engulfs the viewer in a whirlwind of culturual / sensual experiences spanning across the deserts in pre-war Egypt and in an ancient monastery in the Tuscan countryside.
I disagree with reviewers' attempt to rule out the movie merely based on morality issues. Adultery is wrong and there's no doubt about it. The story, however, did not "glorify" adultery. We are human and we are all constantly tempted to give in to guilty pleasures. In the end, we are told of the destruction the adulterers brought on to themselves and also to those around them. It IS unfair; but whoever thought that life is fair is naive (or I would go as far as to say, foolish).
Some may find it hard to relate to Fienne's charater, Count Almasy. Yes, he indeed is aloof and he knows he is "rusty with social graces". He is a self-centered, arrogant but cultured polymath who knows lyrics to every song ever written and is fluent in many languages. He is a man of few words (and few adjectives) and may not be immediately likeable to some. Nevertheless, I am amazed that some reviewers find the romance between Almasy and Katharine (beautifully portrayed by Kristin Scott Thomas) abrupt and "seemed to come from nowhere". To me, the underlying sexual tension between them is blatant. BLATANT.
When Katharine recited the story about Gyges from the Histories by Herodytus in the camp, you know Almasy was hooked. What did Almasy bring to the expedition other than the only one book by Herodotus? And from Katharine's (ahem... Mrs. Clifton) perspective, she knew she liked him (remember the scene where she offered Almasy her paintings to paste in his book?) and her fate was sealed when they were trapped in the car amidst a sandstorm. "Let me tell you about winds..." Katharine swooned as Almasy whispered the words in her ears. Almasy invoked in her a greater sensitivity to music and arts. But what about Geoffrey, her husband? Well, let's put it that way - when they were taking turns to perform in the tent where Katharine recited the Herodotus, Geoffrey sang this stupid song about bananas and potatos. It's easy to see how Almasy aroused Katharine's desires for him - it's all in the brain (and whoever claims it's just lust between them must watch this movie again). Geoffrey has so little to offer in anything remotely intellectual. Don't get me wrong, Katharine does love her husband, albeit in her own rather rational way. Sadly, a vow is a vow and it is not meant to be broken. Geoffrey has every right to be angry and his plans to kill Almasy is instinctively understandable.
I find Almasy pitiful - When he lost his usual reserved self in the dinner party and made a fool of himself, it is clear how consuming and destructive passion could be. Everything fell apart when they failed to restrain themselves, for "the heart is an organ of fire" and they are but two mortal humans.
The music Yared composed for the movie was splendid. The lush, heavy orchestral arrangement entwined with Hungarian folklore was very appropriate and demonstrative of the tempestuous and complex affair between Almasy and Katharine. On the other hand, piano excerpts from the pristine Goldenburg variations summed up the essence of Hana's affair with Kip, which is feelings of yearning and longing in its purest and simplest form. The use of a folklore of ambiguous origin (it's not until middle of the movie that we know it is Hungarian) greatly enhances the mysterious tone that envelops the entire movie.
The movie is a feast to the senses. I obviously skipped a lot of important twists and plots, such as the story of the vengeful thief Caravaggio (brilliantly played by Dafoe), and failed to elaborate more on the romance between the selfless kindred spirits, Hana and Kip. I lack the vocabulty to describe how I feel about the movie but it really is a timeless classic. I agree that the story / picture has its flaws (and so are the doomed lovers); yet this movie is not to be missed. It indulges you in dreams all day...
Apart from the spectacular cinematography brought by John Seale, the movie has a lot more to offer. It addresses issues of fidelity, identity and nationalism. The implied theme suggesting we're all citizens of the world is reminiscent of the theme in Casablanca. In some bizarre ways, Almasy is not totally unlike Rick in Casablanca, for they both refuse to be confined by bounaries set by the world and they do not give in to bureaucracy. The only difference is - Rick is older and wiser.
So - with a superbly clever and sensual movie like this (completed with beautiful swing tunes like "Cheek to cheek" and "Where or when"), who could ask for anything more?
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